Wednesday, 12 December 2012

Christmas Chique 2012 - Quick Christmas Appetizers

If
you are pushed for time at Christmas and want to add a little panache
to your drinks parties or keep your dinner guests happy before the
meal I have some quick and easy recipes for appetizers that don't
involve slaving over a hot stove!

Stuffed
dates and figs are a true Eastern delight and can be as luxurious as
you like. In the Middle East they are usually stuffed with nuts but
cheese fillings offer a sweet and savoury taste explosion.

Figs
with Camembert

250g
dried figs

3
tbsp port

125g
camembert cheese, diced

Soak
the figs in the port overnight. Cut a slit fig and widen the hole
with your finger. Fill with camembert cheese.

Fresh
Dates with Ginger

250g
fresh dates

125g
full fat soft cream cheese

1
tbsp chopped glacé ginger

1
tsp grated lemon rind

Remove
the stones from the dates. Beat the cream cheese with the ginger and
lemon rind. Fill the dates with the mixture.

Celery
boats are super finger food and you can stuff celery with salmon or
crab mousses, fish pâtés, cream cheeses and nuts. Seafood and
chilled, crisp celery are a refreshing combination – especially
with a glass of sparkling wine!

Celery
Boats with Prawns

300ml
thick sour cream

1
tbsp drained capers

1
tbsp fresh chives, chopped

2
tbsp Dijon mustard

500g
cooked prawns

3
or 4 sticks of celery

Chop
the capers and add them to the sour cream. Add the chives and Dijon
mustard, stir well. Chill.

Chop
the prawns into 2 or 3 pieces. Trim the rib off the celery so that
it sits with a flat base and chop into 5 cm lengths. Chill.

Spoon
the sour cream mixture into each length of celery and top with the
prawns.

Salt
beef is a popular choice this Christmas but I prefer smoked beef,
especially on the rare side. Paired with rye bread and this unusual
but tasty tuna mayonnaise sauce these open sandwiches are very
moreish!

Smoked
Beef Open Sandwiches

10
slices of dark rye bread

butter
for spreading

20
– 30 slices of smoked beef

250ml
mayonnaise

125g
canned tuna

juice
of ½ lemon

freshly
cracked black pepper

Cut
the rye bread into halves and spread with butter. Arrange the smoked
beef slices on top of the rye bread.

Blend
the canned tuna (drain it first), mayonnaise, lemon juice and capers
in a blender. Spoon the sauce over the smoked beef and garnish with
freshly cracked black pepper.